Sheltered housing

What is sheltered housing?

Sheltered housing supports older people to live independently. It provides you with a secure tenancy in a 1 bedroom self-contained flat. Flats are grouped in small, low-rise blocks known as 'schemes'.

They come unfurnished and have their own front doors, kitchens, bathroom and lounge. Some have private gardens, and most have a communal lounge and garden, for socialising and relaxing.

Why choose sheltered housing?

Optional weekly welfare checks by the sheltered housing officer for peace of mind and a sheltered housing officer is available for help and advice when you need it
Some flats are adapted for disability
Lift access to flats above ground
24-hour emergency assistance through a call button
Use of communal facilities, in a safe and peaceful environment
A self-service laundry facility
Guest rooms are available at some of our schemes (reasonable charges apply)
Shared residents' parking
Video entry phone
Sheltered housing offers you independence and choice, you can be involved as much, or as little as you like.

Our sheltered housing officers will facilitate regular coffee mornings, gardening clubs and other activities for residents.

Sheltered housing doesn't provide personal care, medical support or have on-site carers or nursing staff.

We are sometimes confused with care homes, that's not us! We have individual flats clustered together that share some communal facilities, to form a local neighbourhood.

What rights does a sheltered housing resident have?

All sheltered housing residents have a 'secure', also known as 'lifetime' tenancy, once they have been a council tenant for one year, and have the same rights as any other council tenant except:

you cannot transfer the tenancy to anybody else, except a spouse or civil partner
you do not have the right to buy your home.

How can I apply for sheltered council housing?

You can apply for sheltered housing if you:

are a British citizen or have been granted refugee status or indefinite/exceptional leave to remain
are aged over 60 years - this can be you or your partner
are a resident of Hammersmith & Fulham
have been a resident of the borough for five out of the last 7 years
have been financially assessed as eligible.

Fill in our housing application form if you're interested to apply.

For further information or advice, please use our housing advice contact form.

Our sheltered housing schemes

Paying for the accommodation

If you move to a specialist sheltered or supported accommodation scheme you will have to pay rent on your flat. Sometimes there is an additional service charge which covers the services of the scheme manager and general maintenance.

If you are eligible for Universal Credit or housing benefit then you will be able to claim this towards the cost of your rent. For further information contact the housing benefits team.